The Lack Of Participation In ATS Writing Forums

Originally posted by whaaa

Originally posted by tothetenthpower
reply to post by masqua

 

I'm definetly up for that.

Also I think putting in a character minimum will help make the stories more thought out and overall will increase the quality.

Agreed, but not so high as to be intimidating and discourage new people from entering.

Certainly, but I don't think that 2500 or 5000 is too big. I mean come on, we get 10K characters maximum per post, so a quarter or half of that is a good expectation IMO.

~Keeper

reply to post by whaaa


Not at all. Here's a sample of a decent length story: The foggy Lady

Number of words: 442

If it's over 400 words, it's a go and under that it goes back to the author to flesh it out a bit.

Agreed?

Originally posted by tothetenthpower

Originally posted by whaaa

Originally posted by tothetenthpower
reply to post by masqua

 

I'm definetly up for that.

Also I think putting in a character minimum will help make the stories more thought out and overall will increase the quality.

Agreed, but not so high as to be intimidating and discourage new people from entering.

Certainly, but I don't think that 2500 or 5000 is too big. I mean come on, we get 10K characters maximum per post, so a quarter or half of that is a good expectation IMO.



~Keeper

Yes those are fair numbers and I believe. What has been the norm in the past?

[edit on 15-6-2010 by whaaa]

reply to post by masqua


Agreed!

400 words it is..

Also any word processor has a word count feature as well..

~Keeper

Originally posted by masqua

Sorry! my bad. I mis-read the post. This (below) does not apply. Forget ya saw it. Lol

Fictional story from the perspective of something other than a human?

Why not? The scope of the topic should be all inclusive.

...from drama to comedy.

That too.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________
This however, does apply. Thank you for that info.!

*As a side note, I've been contemplating requesting Writer's status so that I could participate in the Collaborative Writing subjects... perhaps a future request will be headed your way!

I'll be looking for it. BTW... if you enter a story in the upcoming contest, you'd get the status anyways.

I'll be watching for the contest info. Cheers.

Ok then... watch for a contest within the week based on the Gulf Oil Spill.

Next, I'll be looking for a catchy pic and equally catchy contest title.

reply to post by masqua


Being quite eager, I thought Id churn out a Oil related story.
Maybe to set as a bench mark?
Or as the first in a new comp.

reply to post by Esrom Escutcheon Esquire


The contest has begun.

Have at it...

Well I wrote the start of a story in there. No-one showed any interest so I kinda lost motivation.

It isn't just the writers, it is the readers too.

No-one even posted to say it was crap

reply to post by george_gaz


Herd mentality:

When the winds blow hard, they bunch together and put their butts to the gale.

When it's pleasant, they're all over the place.

When the bull is in the next field, the cows are all at the fence moo-ing coyly.

The same applies here.

Originally posted by masqua

You know... that's not a bad idea.

How would we set it up? A fictional story with a wide range of topics, as in global consequences to the entire planet all the way across to personal stories about individuals losing their livelihood?

No REALLY short stories, though, unless judges want to have to choose between hundreds of entries.

Which brings me to another point... we'd need volunteer judges from the membership who cannot enter the contest.

Glad you all liked the idea

I might like to write, but am I correct in assuming that stories that might have a bit of "profanity", are probably not within the T&C? Is there a place for stories with the occasional "f", or whatever?

There are times when it might be necessary, if we are trying to approach realism. Anyway, not trying to rock any boats, just wondering.

JR

reply to post by JR MacBeth


I have wondered that too. I remember in my first writing class years ago, my teacher Bob Mahon saying ,"Details, details."
His second mantra was, "F____ write it like you speak, or it won't sound real."

reply to post by Chamberf=6


Hey... that's a cool English teacher. Mine was a teeeny bit more strict about what got handed in.

Anyways, this here website ain't school and them thar rules is them thar rules, ya know.

Dratted dadgum rules... whatcha gonna do, eh?

reply to post by masqua


Hi Masqua, looks like you've got the answers. Is there at least some "latitude" concerning profanity, when it comes to fiction?

Obviously, keeping profanity down in any civil discourse makes perfect sense. But when it comes to fiction, it seems like one might expect a small break.

Probably the best thing is to just read some of what is considered "acceptable". Any stories I could be directed to, that might help inspire me on this issue? Perhaps others are doing a good job already, and are still managing to stay within the T&C.

An example that comes to mind is a Galactica-style substitution, such as "frake". But, that could probably be considered an attempt to circumvent.

Anyway, I would appreciate any help here.

JR

Sorry for taking so long. I've been a little fractured... bits here, bits there and a few chunks elsewhere.

Originally posted by JR MacBeth
reply to post by masqua

 

Hi Masqua, looks like you've got the answers. Is there at least some "latitude" concerning profanity, when it comes to fiction?

Of course there's some latitude... as long as it doesn't go against the T&C's, and, in particular, this one:

1b.) Profanity: You will not use profanity in our forums, and will neither post with language or content that is obscene, sexually oriented, or sexually suggestive nor link to sites that contain such content. You will also not use common alternative spellings or net-speak alternative for profane words.

You'll note that profanity is associated, for the most part, by sexuality. It's an easy thing to seperate sexually-based words from the non-sexual. Most non-sexual cussing, typed in full and correctly spelled, seems to be ignored by the censors. The only common one which IS caught has more to do with 'poop' and 'crap' than sex and still stands... a word which, imho, should be expunged from the censor list. Until it is, though, we're stuck with it being banned from the site. It surprises me that the most common English word used when just about anything goes wrong is not allowed.

Obviously, keeping profanity down in any civil discourse makes perfect sense. But when it comes to fiction, it seems like one might expect a small break.

I agree to the point you're making but, as a moderator, I must uphold the T&C's and promote the fact that they are universally applied throughout the website. There is no specified relaxing of the rules in the Writing forums

Probably the best thing is to just read some of what is considered "acceptable". Any stories I could be directed to, that might help inspire me on this issue? Perhaps others are doing a good job already, and are still managing to stay within the T&C.

I can't think of any off-hand and would have to do the same as any other member... dig through the hundreds of posted short stories to find a good example. You know the words the censor acts upon, as I believe a large proportion of regular posters are also aware of them. There's not that many included. On the other hand, the sheer volume of cussing that IS NOT handled by the censor is immense and what should be borne in mind, if you decide to use some of them, is the abhorrance many hold with such terminology. One Complaint about a word and the result often is a mod edit and a red warning flag. So... one has to choose carefully. If mom used to slap you on the backside for using them (like mine did), it likely wouldn't be a good idea here.

An example that comes to mind is a Galactica-style substitution, such as "frake". But, that could probably be considered an attempt to circumvent.

Actually, I've seen the term used and, afaik, nothing came of it. Remember that the most frequent initiator is often the membership itself, not staff. We just don't have the time to read every post OR thread. I'd bet that while I'm typing off this post, literally dozens (if not a hundred) of posts have been made. Now consider all the U2U's staff gets and you'd understand how busy most of us are.

But the one thing staff really DO react quickly to are the Alerts and Complaints.

So... the bottom line is: Don't consider the sensitivities of staff so much as that of the membership at large. They are the ones who are really in charge, and the larger the membership grows, the more importance they will have in how well this website is moderated.

reply to post by george_gaz


I know the feeling. Last masterpiece I came out with got 1 comment. Puts you off doesn't it.

reply to post by wigit


Yeah... for sure. There's no other reason for writing something unless it's for someone else's eventual enjoyment. Even personal diaries are meant to be read and enjoyed by someone someday, otherwise what's the purpose?

Lots of stories and poetry DO get comments, though, so I wonder if there isn't some other things that come into play.

Anyways, I like to write like I talk... as if the reader is standing right in front of me. It's kinda strange and I sometimes wonder just what my impression of that 'reader' might be.

Could that make a difference? I mean, if I'm writing as if I'm talking to an unknown reader, does the reader then feel a personal connection in some weird way and does that then prompt them to reply more? Should I write with certain people in mind?

Just thinking out loud.

reply to post by masqua


I just dropped by to check out this forum. I was looking for info on submissions, (lengths, etc.) and now I want to know what the "!" and "X" meant and what (HHWC) or whatever it was that prefaced and ended some titles. I'be been on other forums, mostly the ET/UFO place an' we ain't got that kinda stuff there. Permission? Why would you need permission? What is required to give to get permission? Can you be denied permission? Then what?

Sure, I'm taking you to task here with these somewhat silly questions, but I'm trying to point out what could be a major reason the forum isn't as active as is desired. Potential members may think it does seem like a bit of a private club within ATS. Any you know, yout task is to Deny Ignorance. .

Originally posted by Aliensun
I was looking for info on submissions, (lengths, etc.) and now I want to know what the "!" and "X" meant and what (HHWC) or whatever it was that prefaced and ended some titles. I'be been on other forums, mostly the ET/UFO place an' we ain't got that kinda stuff there. Permission? Why would you need permission? What is required to give to get permission? Can you be denied permission? Then what?

The submissions are for a writing contest, which is something we do occasionally. If you click on the link, you'll see the reason for the [HHWC]... a means by which everyone will know that it's a submission to that contest.

The "!" on the forum page is a 'topped thread'. That means it stays at the top of he first forum page and will be easy for the judges to see and read every story. After the contest ends, they will join the rest of the 'untopped' threads.

The "X" means it is a thread that is closed for further posts.

The 'permission' is Writer Status and doesn't apply in the Short Stories forum. It's for the Collaborative Writing forum which is closed to the general membership and used by those who have writer status. Yes, you can be denied writer status, especially for disruptive behavior in the Collab forum. It is, however, easy to get the status. All a member needs to do is have a story successfully entered into a wrting contest. Reading the rules helps in that endeavor.